Zimbabwean mining executive Jasper Musadaidzwa has been appointed chief executive officer of London-listed Kavango Resources, bringing more than 27 years of mining experience to the company as it accelerates its transition from exploration toward gold production in Zimbabwe.

Kavango announced Jasper Musadaidzwa’s appointment with immediate effect on September 7, 2026. He joins the company after 17 years at AngloGold Ashanti, where he held senior operational and executive positions across several African mining jurisdictions, most recently serving as senior vice president responsible for its Guinea business.

Jasper Musadaidzwa brings senior African mining experience

Jasper Musadaidzwa’s most recent role at AngloGold Ashanti involved leading the operational and financial turnaround of its Guinea business following a period of underperformance. According to Kavango, the turnaround extended the operation’s mine life from 2026 to 2034, doubled its net present value and restored sustainable cash generation.

Before taking responsibility for the Guinea business, Jasper Musadaidzwa served as senior vice president of operations for AngloGold Ashanti’s Africa region, overseeing four mines in Ghana, Tanzania, Mali and Guinea. The operations collectively produced approximately 1.1 million ounces of gold annually, generated nearly $2 billion in revenue and employed more than 14,000 people, giving Musadaidzwa experience managing large-scale mining operations across multiple African markets.

His earlier career at AngloGold Ashanti included senior positions at the Iduapriem mine in Ghana, Siguiri in Guinea and Geita in Tanzania.

Before joining AngloGold Ashanti, Jasper Musadaidzwa worked for Anglo American at the Skorpion zinc mine in Namibia, having begun his mining career in Zimbabwe nearly three decades ago.

From exploration to gold production in Zimbabwe

Musadaidzwa takes over Kavango Resources at a pivotal stage as the company develops its Zimbabwean gold assets and seeks to build a cash-generating mining business.

At Hillside in Zimbabwe’s Filabusi Greenstone Belt, Kavango has been advancing mining, exploration and processing activities as part of its strategy to establish a domestic gold production platform.

The company began construction of a 50-ton-per-day carbon-in-pulp test plant at Bill’s Luck in 2025 as it worked toward increasing processing capacity. It has also outlined plans to expand production and processing capacity at Bill’s Luck to 250 tons of ore per day.

Musadaidzwa said his immediate priorities would include building on Kavango’s existing operations, strengthening its operational capabilities and advancing the company toward sustainable cash generation.

His appointment also marks a return to the country where he began his mining career, allowing the new CEO to apply his experience from some of Africa’s largest gold operations to a growing Zimbabwean mining business. The initial test for Musadaidzwa will be the successful ramp-up of Kavango’s processing infrastructure and the development of a larger-scale gold operation in Zimbabwe. The company’s copper exploration portfolio in Botswana will also remain important as it continues work across the Kalahari Copper Belt.

Kansagra family’s backing of Kavango Resources

Kavango Resources was founded in 2017 by Michael J. E. Foster, John Charles Forrest, Hillary Nyakunengwa Gumbo, Charles Michael Moles and Douglas Wright and has built a mineral exploration and development portfolio across Southern Africa, with Zimbabwe increasingly becoming a central part of its growth strategy.

The Kansagra family, through Solai Holdings and its subsidiary Purebond, holds a 70.2% interest in Kavango, equivalent to approximately 2.14 billion shares. Although no single shareholder has complete ownership of the company, the family’s position makes it a significant backer of Kavango’s expansion plans. The Kansagras’ growing involvement in Kavango comes as Zimbabwe and the wider Southern African region seek greater private-sector investment in mineral exploration, processing and production.

For Musadaidzwa, the appointment places decades of experience across some of Africa’s major gold-producing operations behind Kavango’s next phase of growth, as the company seeks to convert its Zimbabwean mineral assets into commercial production while continuing exploration across the region.